There's a new female shark ray in town. The largest collection of shark rays on exhibit grew on Wednesday, with the addition of an adult female shark ray joining the four others already on display atFull Story >

The largest collection of Shark Rays on exhibit grew on Wednesday, with the addition of an adult female shark ray joining the four others already on display at Newport Aquarium. Now, they need help naming her!Full Story >

The Newport Aquarium is featuring a new shark ray exhibit.Beginning March 23, you can see more shark rays on display than anywhere else in the world in Newport Aquarium's Surrounded By Sharks Exhibit,Full Story >

The Newport Aquarium is featuring a new shark ray exhibit.Full Story >

NEWPORT, KY (FOX19) -

The Newport Aquarium announced Tuesday on Facebook that its new shark ray has died.

"We are heartbroken to announce that our newest Shark Ray died Monday evening. She succumbed to bleeding from an internal wound received during an apparent mating attempt by one of the male Shark Rays. Despite extraordinary efforts by our veterinary staff and marine biologists, she did not survive," the statement read.

"They found her early Monday
morning. She was laying on her side, not a normal behavior for her at
all," said Dan Hagley tells FOX19, area supervisor of fish and invertebrates at the Newport
Aquarium.

Hagley says situations like this
are not common.

"Breeding in sharks is
fairly aggressive. The males grab hold of the females, push the females
around. It was definitely a very rare occurrence for something like this
to happen," added Hagley.

The new shark ray joined the aquarium last week, joining Sweat Pea, Scooter, Spike and Sunshine in the 385,000-gallon shark tank.

According to the Aquarium, the new shark ray was born in the waters off Taiwan. She was more than seven feet long and weighed about 250 pounds.

"It's disheartening.
You do everything you can, and something like this that you can't prevent. You
can't foresee. It's just a rare occurrence. It's just a sad day,"
said Hagley.

Hagley says there are some
positives from this negative situation. He says they'll continue their
breeding efforts with the shark rays, and try to learn as much as they can
about the animals from what happened.